Carpet of Comfort
by elephantsneverforget
Summary: H.G.,Common room now. Very important.D.M. P.S. Bring me a muffin, will you?


Hermione walked through to portrait of a lady by the river to the Heads' common room. She was doing her Charms essay in the Great Hall with Harry and Ron when an owl swooped in to hand her a note.

_H.G.,_

_Common room now. Very important._

_D.M._

_P.S. Bring me a muffin, will you?_

So here she was, muffin in one hand and books on the other, silently cursing her fates that Malfoy was pronounced Head Boy.

"Malfoy?" she called out not seeing him on any of the couches in the room.

"Down here, Granger."

Draco Malfoy was lying down flat on his back on the carpet right beside the fireplace.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why are you on the floor?"

"I had some sort of an epiphany this morning, Granger."

"Did you finally realize you look better as a ferret?" She giggled, reliving the memory she so dearly loved.

Draco scowled at her, "Low blow, woman. But since I am in quite a mood, I will pretend I never heard your dumb remark and will continue with my epiphany."

Hermione groaned.

"This morning, before breakfast, I was going around the dormitory looking for my tie."

"Because you don't have fifty others in your closet, right?"

"That tie was special!" he snapped. "My grandma gave it to me."

Hermione laughed. She found it very hard to believe that Draco Malfoy, Slytherin prince and arsehole extraordinaire believed in sentimental value.

"So, I was getting quite frustrated as I was searching around. It wasn't in my closet where I keep my other FIFTY-THREE ties—" he smirked at her, "—and it wasn't in your closet—"

"HEY! What the hell were you doing in my closet?"

"Had to make sure you didn't steal it to get a whiff of my scent which I have seen you enjoy whenever we are in close proximities with each other."

"Dream on, ferret."

"Nice underwear, by the way. Laces and skimpies. Didn't know you had it in you, Granger."

Hermioned gaped at what he said. "God, you are a nightmare."

He merely smirked. "Anyway, I was searching for it now here in the common room when I decided to also take a peek under the couches and tables. I was to look under this couch over here so I laid myself down on this carpet on my stomach and there it was – the epiphany."

The pause was excruciatingly long. She knew it was something ridiculous, given that Malfoy really wasn't the type to ponder on such deep epiphanies, yet she decided to indulge him because she has never seen him so excited about something.

"This has got to be the softest and most comfortable carpet in the entire world – that includes both Wizarding and Muggle world."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "THAT'S IT? You tear me away from almost finishing my Charms essay for something as stupid as this?"

"You're totally missing the point here, Granger! I have been accommodated in the BEST places in this world – palaces, 5-star hotels, villas, manors – in different countries and continents. I have NEVER felt this much comfort before."

She merely rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh at the idiocy of this.

"If you don't believe me, get in here, on this carpet and feel it!"

She did not move from her spot by the window.

"Make haste, Granger! You are testing my patience!"

She moved. "Seriously Malfoy, you got to get your head checked or something." She laid down on the carpet next to him.

A long pause. "Well?"

"Hot damn, Malfoy. For once in your life, you are right."

"I am ALWAYS right." He corrected her. "I am not the type to be wrong. Ever."

She closed her eyes and took in the comfort she was feeling. He was right. This was THE most comfortable carpet in the world. The material used was the softest thing she has ever felt. It was like it was hugging her body. It didn't itch when it came into contact with her skin, nor was it like the other carpets that pricked when touched. This was SO odd. Yet she couldn't bring herself to get up.

"You haven't gotten up since?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Nope. I missed breakfast. Hence, the muffin. Have you got it?"

She reached for the blueberry muffin and handed it to him. "Knock yourself out."

He ate the muffin. Silence.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you, the Weird Sisters agreed to perform for the Christmas Ball. And the decorations committee finally decided on what the theme colors would be, thank Merlin. Why I put Lavander and Parvati into that committee was an idiotic idea."

"Granger, hush. No Heads business when on the carpet of comfort."

"Oh, that's what you're calling it now?" She laughed.

"Yes. It's my carpet, I get to decided how to call it."

"You're forgetting, Mr. Malfoy, that this is in OUR common room so it's half mine, too."

"But you never would have appreciated it if I never introduced to you its comfort."

"Touche." She surrendered.

"A year ago, I would cringe at the thought of lying down next to you, let alone sharing ideas with you."

"I know. I probably would have thrown up at the very thought of being in close proximity with you. I wouldn't even consider having our skins touch."

That was the only time Draco Malfoy noticed how close they were. _Hmmm…_ he thought, _It doesn't feel so bad being this close to Granger. It's rather nice._

"This whole being a Head thing is seriously taking a giant toll on my life right now. I have to study and do homeworks, hang out with Ron, Harry and the other Gryffindors, patrol the castle at night and plan so many things all at the same time. I feel like I'm living 4 different lives all at once. I am definitely kicking Hannah Montana's living-a-double-life life." She laughed, changing the subject.

"I know what you mean." He agreed, "I have to be on top of everything. Plus the fact that Father is rotting in Azkaban – much to my delight – I am in charge of being the Lord of the Manor too. You wouldn't believe how many owls they send me in a week, asking about tapestries and furniture and designs."

"Why would they be asking you those?"

"Renovating. When the Dark Side took over, they ruined most of the Manor. Now, we're having it rebuilt and Mother seems to think I should have my say in it since I am the next Lord of the Manor."

She cringed at the thought of the Manor, remembering all of the memories she had when was trapped there. She could almost hear Bellatrix's evil laughter when she Crucio-d her. She shuddered.

"You okay?"

"Just… remembered things about your house. Not exactly my fondest memories." She forced a laugh.

Now it was his turn to remember everything that she went through in the Manor. Her piercing screams and his silent pleas for them to stop were the most horrifying memories he had. Helping them escape was probably the smartest thing he had ever done in his life. Well, that and fighting with the Light during the Final Battle.

They were silent for a long while now. He was suddenly very aware of her face right next to his. He could get a whiff of her Coconut shampoo. He glanced at her peaceful face and couldn't help but watch her with her eyes closed. He would never admit it out loud but she was quite a beauty. Her features were soft and gentle – very much different from all the other girls he had dated, some of which looked like hags. What could he do though? His hormones were raging! She had a smile painted on her face and he was begging to know what she was thinking about.

"Granger? What's on your mind?"

Hermione's eyes gently opened. "Nothing, really. Just that it's been so long since I got to feel as comfortable, safe and cozy as right now."

He smiled. Now it was her who was looking at him. _Wow…_ she thought, _Draco Malfoy is as handsome as the giggling girls in Hogwarts say._ She noticed that he had a smile playing at his face. _Wow, he smiles. I never knew he was capable of showing such genuine emotion._

"Malfoy? What's on your mind?"

Draco tilted his head and met her eyes. She blushed profusely and he liked that effect he had on her. Not daring to say that she looked amazing, he said the first thing that he could think of, "Who's Hannah Montana?"

"Huh?"

"You mentioned her earlier. You said she lives a double life? Is she your friend or something?"

She giggled. "She's a muggle character. She's a popstar living as a normal teenager, hence the double life. Silly though, nobody around her notices that she's the exact same person. Kinda like Superman."

"Who?"

"Superman. He's another muggle character. He's a hero – saves people from evil villains, stops asteroids crashing towards the earth, lifts cars and all that. But he's really just some geek working for a newspaper. The only difference is that he takes off his glasses and has one funny-looking curl dangling on his forehead when he becomes Superman." She laughed.

He laughed too. "Muggles are ridiculous."

"Yes. But so are wizards. Would you believe, I know this wizard who wrote me an urgent note saying that it was pertinent for me to come running only to find out that it was because of one stinking carpet?"

He gasped. "Never insult the carpet, Granger! It never did you any harm. Apologize to the Carpet of Comfort!"

She laughed, "Sorry, Carpet of Comfort." She pretended to whisper at the carpet, saying, "I'd be careful of Draco here, if I were you. He's got a nasty reputation here at school for winning you over for a night and breaking hearts."

He would have fought back. If only she didn't use his name. He smiled. "You realize that was the first time you acknowledged me as Draco?"

She opened her mouth and closed it again. "Oh. Well, it is your name."

"Yes, that is my name, Her-mi-o-ne."

She was shocked. Hearing him say her name sent butterflies to her stomach. _What in Merlin's name were those butterflies for?_

They were silent for a long time. She turned to look at him only to find that he was already facing her. She swallowed a giant lump on her throat. He smiled. He was making her nervous. She looked into his eyes. He swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in his throat. She smiled. Now she was making him nervous.

He reached for her chin and brought it closer to him. _Here I go. Worst thing that could happen is she'll slap me and I can just mock her and say it was just a joke._

_Shit._ She thought. _He's pulling me close. Not that I don't want to. Damn, those eyes._

They were so close, lips almost brushing. They closed their eyes.

_This is it._ She thought.

_Here it comes._ He thought.

Just as their lips softly brushed against each other…

"Mr. Malfoy? Ms. Granger?"

They pulled away fast and looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in their common room looking at them.

"Why are you both on the floor? It's 30 minutes past 10 o'clock and you both were supposed to be in the Great Hall for dance practice. I would have expected you two to set good examples by being there on time. Yet I find that you are the only two missing from rehearsals."

They jolted up, muttered apologies, grabbed their bags and headed to the Great Hall both excited to be back in the Carpet of Comfort tonight.


End file.
